One Family’s Experience of Food Insecurity

by Amanda Diamond, Special to the Messenger

This winter I noticed that one of our “Saturday Family” regulars was not present for the food day in December. I was still at the church after the distribution time when I was told there was someone who wanted to see me. 

I walked outside and saw the members from our “Saturday Family” waiting for me. I immediately told them that I had missed them and wondered if they were okay. 

The father interrupted me to say that they were fine, in fact, they were actually better than fine. They wanted to thank us for the ministry that we had provided to them and to others in the area. 

This family of five was comprised of a mom who worked in a salaried position in our community. Her husband was out of work because he had been hurt on the job. They were raising three children ranging in age from middle school to high school. The family had been navigating the father’s disability and workman’s compensation claims for many months, which is what brought them to our food program. 

On this day in December, the family returned to the Morton Food Ministry. They had come to thank the community for all that they had received, but also to give back. In a month when Christmas presents are being purchased and utility costs rise, this family handed me a check for a large sum of money. They said “This is to go for another family who is in need.” They hugged me and thanked me again for the ways the healthy, sustainable food made a difference for them in the months when they were insecure about where their meals would come from. 

Our “Saturday Families” aren’t just takers. They are givers: from the volunteer hours they offer in helping to unload and distribute the food, to the ways they serve on the Food Leadership Team, to donating funds to help cover the cost of purchasing freezers and shelving. 

The Food Ministry at Morton Memorial UMC is an extended family where persons are giving and receiving together.

The Rev. Amanda Diamond is the pastor at Morton Memorial United Methodist Church in Monteagle, which has a feeding program on the first Saturday of each month.